New Delhi, April 21 -- The White House's clash with Harvard University, which the former sought to soften over the weekend, spotlights an enviable aspect of the US as much as a political puzzle. The country's institutional integrity, with academic freedom held as a key value, has long been the world's envy. If that wobbles, its story of liberty would ring hollow.

The enigma is the backing of Israel's brutal Gaza War by both its big political parties. The events that led Claudine Gay to resign as Harvard president in 2024 revealed not just varied views on who's vulnerable to genocide, but also how easily anti-war protests could be branded "antisemitic".

She had merely stated the campus rulebook, which privileges free speech. Her successo...